[G.R. No. 114974.

June 16, 2004]

STANDARD CHARTERED BANK EMPLOYEES UNION (NUBE), petitioner, vs. The
Honorable MA. NIEVES R. CONFESOR, in her capacity as SECRETARY OF LABOR AND
EMPLOYMENT; and the STANDARD CHARTERED BANK, respondents.
DECISION
CALLEJO, SR., J.:
This is a petition for certiorari under Rule 65 of the Rules of Court filed by the Standard
Chartered Bank Employees Union, seeking the nullification of the October 29, 1993 Order [1] of
then Secretary of Labor and Employment Nieves R. Confesor and her resolutions dated
December 16, 1993 and February 10, 1994.
1

The Antecedents
Standard Chartered Bank (the Bank, for brevity) is a foreign banking corporation doing business
in the Philippines. The exclusive bargaining agent of the rank and file employees of the Bank is
the Standard Chartered Bank Employees Union (the Union, for brevity).
In August of 1990, the Bank and the Union signed a five-year collective bargaining agreement
(CBA) with a provision to renegotiate the terms thereof on the third year. Prior to the expiration
of the three-year period [2] but within the sixty-day freedom period, the Union initiated the
negotiations. On February 18, 1993, the Union, through its President, Eddie L. Divinagracia, sent
a letter [3] containing its proposals [4] covering political provisions [5] and thirty-four (34)
economic provisions. [6] Included therein was a list of the names of the members of the Unions
negotiating panel. [7]
2

In a Letter dated February 24, 1993, the Bank, through its Country Manager Peter H. Harris, took
note of the Unions proposals. The Bank attached its counter-proposal to the non-economic
provisions proposed by the Union. [8] The Bank posited that it would be in a better position to
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present its counter-proposals on the economic items after the Union had presented its
justifications for the economic proposals. [9] The Bank, likewise, listed the members of its
negotiating panel. [10] The parties agreed to set meetings to settle their differences on the
proposed CBA.
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10

Before the commencement of the negotiation, the Union, through Divinagracia, suggested to the
Banks Human Resource Manager and head of the negotiating panel, Cielito Diokno, that the
bank lawyers should be excluded from the negotiating team. The Bank acceded. [11] Meanwhile,
Diokno suggested to Divinagracia that Jose P. Umali, Jr., the President of the National Union of
Bank Employees (NUBE), the federation to which the Union was affiliated, be excluded from
the Unions negotiating panel. [12] However, Umali was retained as a member thereof.
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12

On March 12, 1993, the parties met and set the ground rules for the negotiation. Diokno
suggested that the negotiation be kept a family affair. The proposed non-economic provisions of
the CBA were discussed first. [13] Even during the final reading of the non-economic provisions
on May 4, 1993, there were still provisions on which the Union and the Bank could not agree.
Temporarily, the notation DEFERRED was placed therein. Towards the end of the meeting, the
Union manifested that the same should be changed to DEADLOCKED to indicate that such
items remained unresolved. Both parties agreed to place the notation
DEFERRED/DEADLOCKED. [14]
13

14

On May 18, 1993, the negotiation for economic provisions commenced. A presentation of the
basis of the Unions economic proposals was made. The next meeting, the Bank made a similar
presentation. Towards the end of the Banks presentation, Umali requested the Bank to validate
the Unions guestimates, especially the figures for the rank and file staff. [15] In the succeeding
meetings, Umali chided the Bank for the insufficiency of its counter-proposal on the provisions
on salary increase, group hospitalization, death assistance and dental benefits. He reminded the
Bank, how the Union got what it wanted in 1987, and stated that if need be, the Union would go
through the same route to get what it wanted. [16]
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Upon the Banks insistence, the parties agreed to tackle the economic package item by item.
Upon the Unions suggestion, the Bank indicated which provisions it would accept, reject, retain
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and agree to discuss. [17] The Bank suggested that the Union prioritize its economic proposals,
considering that many of such economic provisions remained unresolved. The Union, however,
demanded that the Bank make a revised itemized proposal.
17

In the succeeding meetings, the Union made the following proposals:

Wage Increase:
1st Year Reduced from 45% to 40%
2nd Year - Retain at 20%
Total = 60%
Group Hospitalization Insurance:
Maximum disability benefit reduced from P75,000.00 to P60,000.00 per illness annually
Death Assistance:
For the employee -- Reduced from P50,000.00 to P45,000.00
For Immediate Family Member -- Reduced from P30,000.00 to P25,000.00
Dental and all others -- No change from the original demand.

18

[18]

In the morning of the June 15, 1993 meeting, the Union suggested that if the Bank would not
make the necessary revisions on its counter-proposal, it would be best to seek a third party
assistance. [19] After the break, the Bank presented its revised counter-proposal [20] as follows:
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20

Wage Increase : 1st Year from P1,000 to P1,050.00

2nd Year P800.00 no change
Group Hospitalization Insurance
From: P35,000.00 per illness
To : P35,000.00 per illness per year
Death Assistance For employee
From: P20,000.00
To : P25,000.00
Dental Retainer Original offer remains the same

21

[21]

The Union, for its part, made the following counter-proposal:

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Wage Increase: 1st Year - 40%

2nd Year - 19.5%
Group Hospitalization Insurance
From: P60,000.00 per year
To : P50,000.00 per year
Dental:
Temporary Filling/ P150.00
Tooth Extraction
Permanent Filling 200.00
Prophylaxis 250.00
Root Canal From P2,000 per tooth
To: 1,800.00 per tooth
Death Assistance:
For Employees: From P45,000.00 to P40,000.00
For Immediate Family Member: From P25,000.00 to P20,000.00.

22

[22]

The Unions original proposals, aside from the above-quoted, remained the same.
Another set of counter-offer followed:
Management
Wage Increase
1st Year P1,050.00
nd
2 Year - 850.00

Union
40%
19.0%

23

[23]

Diokno stated that, in order for the Bank to make a better offer, the Union should clearly identify
what it wanted to be included in the total economic package. Umali replied that it was impossible
to do so because the Banks counter-proposal was unacceptable. He furthered asserted that it
would have been easier to bargain if the atmosphere was the same as before, where both panels
trusted each other. Diokno requested the Union panel to refrain from involving personalities and
to instead focus on the negotiations. [24] He suggested that in order to break the impasse, the
Union should prioritize the items it wanted to iron out. Divinagracia stated that the Bank should
make the first move and make a list of items it wanted to be included in the economic package.
Except for the provisions on signing bonus and uniforms, the Union and the Bank failed to agree
on the remaining economic provisions of the CBA. The Union declared a deadlock [25] and filed
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a Notice of Strike before the National Conciliation and Mediation Board (NCMB) on June 21,
1993, docketed as NCMB-NCR-NS-06-380-93. [26]
26

On the other hand, the Bank filed a complaint for Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) and Damages
before the Arbitration Branch of the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) in Manila,
docketed as NLRC Case No. 00-06-04191-93 against the Union on June 28, 1993. The Bank
alleged that the Union violated its duty to bargain, as it did not bargain in good faith. It
contended that the Union demanded sky high economic demands, indicative of blue-sky
bargaining. [27] Further, the Union violated its no strike- no lockout clause by filing a notice of
strike before the NCMB. Considering that the filing of notice of strike was an illegal act, the
Union officers should be dismissed. Finally, the Bank alleged that as a consequence of the illegal
act, the Bank suffered nominal and actual damages and was forced to litigate and hire the
services of the lawyer. [28]
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28

On July 21, 1993, then Secretary of Labor and Employment (SOLE) Nieves R. Confesor,
pursuant to Article 263(g) of the Labor Code, issued an Order assuming jurisdiction over the
labor dispute at the Bank. The complaint for ULP filed by the Bank before the NLRC was
consolidated with the complaint over which the SOLE assumed jurisdiction. After the parties
submitted their respective position papers, the SOLE issued an Order on October 29, 1993, the
dispositive portion of which is herein quoted:
WHEREFORE, the Standard Chartered Bank and the Standard Chartered Bank Employees
Union NUBE are hereby ordered to execute a collective bargaining agreement incorporating the
dispositions contained herein. The CBA shall be retroactive to 01 April 1993 and shall remain
effective for two years thereafter, or until such time as a new CBA has superseded it. All
provisions in the expired CBA not expressly modified or not passed upon herein are deemed
retained while all new provisions which are being demanded by either party are deemed denied,
but without prejudice to such agreements as the parties may have arrived at in the meantime.
The Banks charge for unfair labor practice which it originally filed with the NLRC as NLRCNCR Case No. 00-06-04191-93 but which is deemed consolidated herein, is dismissed for lack
of merit. On the other hand, the Unions charge for unfair labor practice is similarly dismissed.
Let a copy of this order be furnished the Labor Arbiter in whose sala NLRC-NCR Case No. 0006-04191-93 is pending for his guidance and appropriate action. [29]
29

The SOLE gave the following economic awards:

1.
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Wage Increase:
a) To be incorporated to present salary rates:

Fourth year : 7% of basic monthly salary

Fifth year : 5% of basic monthly salary based on the 4th year adjusted salary
b)

2.
c)

Additional fixed amount:

Fourth year : P600.00 per month
Fifth year : P400.00 per month
Group Insurance
a) Hospitalization : P45,000.00
b) Life : P130,000.00
Accident : P130,000.00

3.

Medicine Allowance
Fourth year : P5,500.00
Fifth year : P6,000.00

4.

Dental Benefits
Provision of dental retainer as proposed by the Bank, but without diminishing
existing benefits

5.

Optical Allowance
Fourth year: P2,000.00
Fifth year : P2,500.00

6.

Death Assistance
a) Employee : P30,000.00
b)
Immediate Family Member : P5,000.00
7.
8.

Emergency Leave Five (5) days for each contingency

Loans
a) Car Loan : P200,000.00
b)
Housing Loan : It cannot be denied that the costs attendant to having ones
own home have tremendously gone up. The need, therefore, to improve on
this benefit cannot be overemphasized. Thus, the management is urged to
increase the existing and allowable housing loan that the Bank extends to its
employees to an amount that will give meaning and substance to this CBA
benefit. [30]
30

The SOLE dismissed the charges of ULP of both the Union and the Bank, explaining that both
parties failed to substantiate their claims. Citing National Labor Union v. Insular-Yebana
Tobacco Corporation, [31] the SOLE stated that ULP charges would prosper only if shown to
have directly prejudiced the public interest.
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Dissatisfied, the Union filed a motion for reconsideration with clarification, while the Bank filed
a motion for reconsideration. On December 16, 1993, the SOLE issued a Resolution denying the
motions. The Union filed a second motion for reconsideration, which was, likewise, denied on
February 10, 1994.
On March 22, 1994, the Bank and the Union signed the CBA. [32] Immediately thereafter, the
wage increase was effected and the signing bonuses based on the increased wage were
distributed to the employees covered by the CBA.
32

The Present Petition

On April 28, 1994, the Union filed this petition for certiorari under Rule 65 of the Rules of
Procedure alleging as follows:
A.
RESPONDENT HONORABLE SECRETARY COMMITTED GRAVE ABUSE OF
DISCRETION AMOUNTING TO LACK OF JURISDICTION IN DISMISSING THE UNIONS
CHARGE OF UNFAIR LABOR PRACTICE IN VIEW OF THE CLEAR EVIDENCE OF
RECORD AND ADMISSIONS PROVING THE UNFAIR LABOR PRACTICES CHARGED.
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[33]

B.
RESPONDENT HONORABLE SECRETARY COMMITTED GRAVE ABUSE OF
DISCRETION AMOUNTING TO LACK OF JURISDICTION IN FAILING TO RULE ON
OTHER UNFAIR LABOR PRACTICES CHARGED. [34]
34

C.
RESPONDENT HONORABLE SECRETARY COMMITTED GRAVE ABUSE OF
DISCRETION AMOUNTING TO LACK OF JURISDICTION IN DISMISSING THE
CHARGES OF UNFAIR LABOR PRACTICES ON THE GROUND THAT NO PROOF OF
INJURY TO THE PUBLIC INTEREST WAS PRESENTED. [35]
35

The Union alleges that the SOLE acted with grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or
excess of jurisdiction when it found that the Bank did not commit unfair labor practice when it
interfered with the Unions choice of negotiator. It argued that, Dioknos suggestion that the
negotiation be limited as a family affair was tantamount to suggesting that Federation President
Jose Umali, Jr. be excluded from the Unions negotiating panel. It further argued that contrary to
the ruling of the public respondent, damage or injury to the public interest need not be present in
order for unfair labor practice to prosper.
The Union, likewise, pointed out that the public respondent failed to rule on the ULP charges
arising from the Banks surface bargaining. The Union contended that the Bank merely went
through the motions of collective bargaining without the intent to reach an agreement, and made
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bad faith proposals when it announced that the parties should begin from a clean slate. It argued
that the Bank opened the political provisions up for grabs, which had the effect of diminishing or
obliterating the gains that the Union had made.
The Union also accused the Bank of refusing to disclose material and necessary data, even after a
request was made by the Union to validate its guestimates.
In its Comment, the Bank prayed that the petition be dismissed as the Union was estopped,
considering that it signed the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) on April 22, 1994. It
asserted that contrary to the Unions allegations, it was the Union that committed ULP when
negotiator Jose Umali, Jr. hurled invectives at the Banks head negotiator, Cielito Diokno, and
demanded that she be excluded from the Banks negotiating team. Moreover, the Union engaged
in blue-sky bargaining and isolated the no strike-no lockout clause of the existing CBA.
The Office of the Solicitor General, in representation of the public respondent, prayed that the
petition be dismissed. It asserted that the Union failed to prove its ULP charges and that the
public respondent did not commit any grave abuse of discretion in issuing the assailed order and
resolutions.
The Issues
The issues presented for resolution are the following: (a) whether or not the Union was able to
substantiate its claim of unfair labor practice against the Bank arising from the latters alleged
interference with its choice of negotiator; surface bargaining; making bad faith non-economic
proposals; and refusal to furnish the Union with copies of the relevant data; (b) whether or not
the public respondent acted with grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of
jurisdiction when she issued the assailed order and resolutions; and, (c) whether or not the
petitioner is estopped from filing the instant action.
The Courts Ruling
The petition is bereft of merit.
Interference under Article
248 (a) of the Labor Code
The petitioner asserts that the private respondent committed ULP, i.e., interference in the
selection of the Unions negotiating panel, when Cielito Diokno, the Banks Human Resource
Manager, suggested to the Unions President Eddie L. Divinagracia that Jose P. Umali, Jr.,
President of the NUBE, be excluded from the Unions negotiating panel. In support of its claim,
Divinagracia executed an affidavit, stating that prior to the commencement of the negotiation,
Diokno approached him and suggested the exclusion of Umali from the Unions negotiating
panel, and that during the first meeting, Diokno stated that the negotiation be kept a family
affair.

Citing the cases of U.S. Postal Service [36] and Harley Davidson Motor Co., Inc., AMF, [37] the
Union claims that interference in the choice of the Unions bargaining panel is tantamount to
ULP.
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37

In the aforecited cases, the alleged ULP was based on the employers violation of Section 8(a)(1)
and (5) of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), [38] which pertain to the interference,
restraint or coercion of the employer in the employees exercise of their rights to self-organization
and to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing; and the refusal of the
employer to bargain collectively with the employees representatives. In both cases, the National
Labor Relations Board held that upon the employers refusal to engage in negotiations with the
Union for collective-bargaining contract when the Union includes a person who is not an
employee, or one who is a member or an official of other labor organizations, such employer is
engaged in unfair labor practice under Section 8(a)(1) and (5) of the NLRA.
38

The Union further cited the case of Insular Life Assurance Co., Ltd. Employees Association
NATU vs. Insular Life Assurance Co., Ltd., [39] wherein this Court said that the test of whether an
employer has interfered with and coerced employees in the exercise of their right to selforganization within the meaning of subsection (a)(1) is whether the employer has engaged in
conduct which it may reasonably be said, tends to interfere with the free exercise of employees
rights under Section 3 of the Act. [40] Further, it is not necessary that there be direct evidence that
any employee was in fact intimidated or coerced by statements of threats of the employer if there
is a reasonable inference that anti-union conduct of the employer does have an adverse effect on
self-organization and collective bargaining. [41]
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Under the International Labor Organization Convention (ILO) No. 87 FREEDOM OF

ASSOCIATION AND PROTECTION OF THE RIGHT TO ORGANIZE to which the
Philippines is a signatory, workers and employers, without distinction whatsoever, shall have the
right to establish and, subject only to the rules of the organization concerned, to job organizations
of their own choosing without previous authorization. [42] Workers and employers organizations
shall have the right to draw up their constitutions and rules, to elect their representatives in full
freedom to organize their administration and activities and to formulate their programs. [43]
Article 2 of ILO Convention No. 98 pertaining to the Right to Organize and Collective
Bargaining, provides:
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Article 2
1.
Workers and employers organizations shall enjoy adequate protection against any acts or
interference by each other or each others agents or members in their establishment, functioning
or administration.
2.
In particular, acts which are designed to promote the establishment of workers
organizations under the domination of employers or employers organizations or to support
workers organizations by financial or other means, with the object of placing such organizations
under the control of employers or employers organizations within the meaning of this Article.
The aforcited ILO Conventions are incorporated in our Labor Code, particularly in Article 243
thereof, which provides:
ART. 243. COVERAGE AND EMPLOYEES RIGHT TO SELF-ORGANIZATION. All persons
employed in commercial, industrial and agricultural enterprises and in religious, charitable,
medical or educational institutions whether operating for profit or not, shall have the right to selforganization and to form, join, or assist labor organizations of their own choosing for purposes of
collective bargaining. Ambulant, intermittent and itinerant workers, self-employed people, rural
workers and those without any definite employers may form labor organizations for their mutual
aid and protection.
and Articles 248 and 249 respecting ULP of employers and labor organizations.
The said ILO Conventions were ratified on December 29, 1953. However, even as early as the
1935 Constitution, [44] the State had already expressly bestowed protection to labor as part of the
general provisions. The 1973 Constitution, [45] on the other hand, declared it as a policy of the
state to afford protection to labor, specifying that the workers rights to self-organization,
collective bargaining, security of tenure, and just and humane conditions of work would be
assured. For its part, the 1987 Constitution, aside from making it a policy to protect the rights of
workers and promote their welfare, [46] devotes an entire section, emphasizing its mandate to
afford protection to labor, and highlights the principle of shared responsibility between workers
and employers to promote industrial peace. [47]
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Article 248(a) of the Labor Code, considers it an unfair labor practice when an employer
interferes, restrains or coerces employees in the exercise of their right to self-organization or the
right to form association. The right to self-organization necessarily includes the right to
collective bargaining.

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Parenthetically, if an employer interferes in the selection of its negotiators or coerces the Union
to exclude from its panel of negotiators a representative of the Union, and if it can be inferred
that the employer adopted the said act to yield adverse effects on the free exercise to right to selforganization or on the right to collective bargaining of the employees, ULP under Article 248(a)
in connection with Article 243 of the Labor Code is committed.
In order to show that the employer committed ULP under the Labor Code, substantial evidence is
required to support the claim. Substantial evidence has been defined as such relevant evidence as
a reasonable mind might accept as adequate to support a conclusion. [48] In the case at bar, the
Union bases its claim of interference on the alleged suggestions of Diokno to exclude Umali
from the Unions negotiating panel.
48

The circumstances that occurred during the negotiation do not show that the suggestion made by
Diokno to Divinagracia is an anti-union conduct from which it can be inferred that the Bank
consciously adopted such act to yield adverse effects on the free exercise of the right to selforganization and collective bargaining of the employees, especially considering that such was
undertaken previous to the commencement of the negotiation and simultaneously with
Divinagracias suggestion that the bank lawyers be excluded from its negotiating panel.
The records show that after the initiation of the collective bargaining process, with the inclusion
of Umali in the Unions negotiating panel, the negotiations pushed through. The complaint was
made only on August 16, 1993 after a deadlock was declared by the Union on June 15, 1993.
It is clear that such ULP charge was merely an afterthought. The accusation occurred after the
arguments and differences over the economic provisions became heated and the parties had
become frustrated. It happened after the parties started to involve personalities. As the public
respondent noted, passions may rise, and as a result, suggestions given under less adversarial
situations may be colored with unintended meanings. [49] Such is what appears to have happened
in this case.
49

The Duty to Bargain

Collectively
If at all, the suggestion made by Diokno to Divinagracia should be construed as part of the
normal relations and innocent communications, which are all part of the friendly relations
between the Union and Bank.
The Union alleges that the Bank violated its duty to bargain; hence, committed ULP under
Article 248(g) when it engaged in surface bargaining. It alleged that the Bank just went through
the motions of bargaining without any intent of reaching an agreement, as evident in the Banks
counter-proposals. It explained that of the 34 economic provisions it made, the Bank only made 6
economic counterproposals. Further, as borne by the minutes of the meetings, the Bank, after
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indicating the economic provisions it had rejected, accepted, retained or were open for
discussion, refused to make a list of items it agreed to include in the economic package.
Surface bargaining is defined as going through the motions of negotiating without any legal
intent to reach an agreement. [50] The resolution of surface bargaining allegations never presents
an easy issue. The determination of whether a party has engaged in unlawful surface bargaining
is usually a difficult one because it involves, at bottom, a question of the intent of the party in
question, and usually such intent can only be inferred from the totality of the challenged partys
conduct both at and away from the bargaining table. [51] It involves the question of whether an
employers conduct demonstrates an unwillingness to bargain in good faith or is merely hard
bargaining. [52]
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52

The minutes of meetings from March 12, 1993 to June 15, 1993 do not show that the Bank had
any intention of violating its duty to bargain with the Union. Records show that after the Union
sent its proposal to the Bank on February 17, 1993, the latter replied with a list of its counterproposals on February 24, 1993. Thereafter, meetings were set for the settlement of their
differences. The minutes of the meetings show that both the Bank and the Union exchanged
economic and non-economic proposals and counter-proposals.
The Union has not been able to show that the Bank had done acts, both at and away from the
bargaining table, which tend to show that it did not want to reach an agreement with the Union or
to settle the differences between it and the Union. Admittedly, the parties were not able to agree
and reached a deadlock. However, it is herein emphasized that the duty to bargain does not
compel either party to agree to a proposal or require the making of a concession. [53] Hence, the
parties failure to agree did not amount to ULP under Article 248(g) for violation of the duty to
bargain.
53

We can hardly dispute this finding, for it finds support in the evidence. The inference that
respondents did not refuse to bargain collectively with the complaining union because they
accepted some of the demands while they refused the others even leaving open other demands
for future discussion is correct, especially so when those demands were discussed at a meeting
called by respondents themselves precisely in view of the letter sent by the union on April 29,
1960 [54]
54

In view of the finding of lack of ULP based on Article 248(g), the accusation that the Bank made
bad faith provisions has no leg to stand on. The records show that the Banks counter-proposals
on the non-economic provisions or political provisions did not put up for grabs the entire work of
the Union and its predecessors. As can be gleaned from the Banks counter-proposal, there were
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many provisions which it proposed to be retained. The revisions on the other provisions were
made after the parties had come to an agreement. Far from buttressing the Unions claim that the
Bank made bad-faith proposals on the non-economic provisions, all these, on the contrary,
disprove such allegations.
We, likewise, find that the Union failed to substantiate its claim that the Bank refused to furnish
the information it needed.
While the refusal to furnish requested information is in itself an unfair labor practice, and also
supports the inference of surface bargaining, [55] in the case at bar, Umali, in a meeting dated
May 18, 1993, requested the Bank to validate its guestimates on the data of the rank and file.
However, Umali failed to put his request in writing as provided for in Article 242(c) of the Labor
Code:
55

Article 242. Rights of Legitimate Labor Organization

(c) To be furnished by the employer, upon written request, with the annual audited financial
statements, including the balance sheet and the profit and loss statement, within thirty (30)
calendar days from the date of receipt of the request, after the union has been duly recognized by
the employer or certified as the sole and exclusive bargaining representatives of the employees in
the bargaining unit, or within sixty (60) calendar days before the expiration of the existing
collective bargaining agreement, or during the collective negotiation;
The Union, did not, as the Labor Code requires, send a written request for the issuance of a copy
of the data about the Banks rank and file employees. Moreover, as alleged by the Union, the fact
that the Bank made use of the aforesaid guestimates, amounts to a validation of the data it had
used in its presentation.
No Grave Abuse of Discretion
On the Part of the Public Respondent
The special civil action for certiorari may be availed of when the tribunal, board, or officer
exercising judicial or quasi-judicial functions has acted without or in excess of jurisdiction and
there is no appeal or any plain, speedy, and adequate remedy in the ordinary course of law for the
purpose of annulling the proceeding. [56] Grave abuse of discretion implies such capricious and
whimsical exercise of judgment as is equivalent to lack of jurisdiction, or where the power is
exercised in an arbitrary or despotic manner by reason of passion or personal hostility which
must be so patent and gross as to amount to an invasion of positive duty or to a virtual refusal to
perform the duty enjoined or to act at all in contemplation of law. Mere abuse of discretion is not
enough. [57]
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While it is true that a showing of prejudice to public interest is not a requisite for ULP charges to
prosper, it cannot be said that the public respondent acted in capricious and whimsical exercise of
judgment, equivalent to lack of jurisdiction or excess thereof. Neither was it shown that the
public respondent exercised its power in an arbitrary and despotic manner by reason of passion
or personal hostility.
Estoppel not Applicable
In the Case at Bar
The respondent Bank argues that the petitioner is estopped from raising the issue of ULP when it
signed the new CBA.
Article 1431 of the Civil Code provides:
Through estoppel an admission or representation is rendered conclusive upon the person making
it, and cannot be denied or disproved as against the person relying thereon.
A person, who by his deed or conduct has induced another to act in a particular manner, is barred
from adopting an inconsistent position, attitude or course of conduct that thereby causes loss or
injury to another. [58]
58

In the case, however, the approval of the CBA and the release of signing bonus do not
necessarily mean that the Union waived its ULP claim against the Bank during the past
negotiations. After all, the conclusion of the CBA was included in the order of the SOLE, while
the signing bonus was included in the CBA itself. Moreover, the Union twice filed a motion for
reconsideration respecting its ULP charges against the Bank before the SOLE.
The Union Did Not Engage
In Blue-Sky Bargaining
We, likewise, do not agree that the Union is guilty of ULP for engaging in blue-sky bargaining or
making exaggerated or unreasonable proposals. [59] The Bank failed to show that the economic
demands made by the Union were exaggerated or unreasonable. The minutes of the meeting
show that the Union based its economic proposals on data of rank and file employees and the
prevailing economic benefits received by bank employees from other foreign banks doing
business in the Philippines and other branches of the Bank in the Asian region.
59

In sum, we find that the public respondent did not act with grave abuse of discretion amounting
to lack or excess of jurisdiction when it issued the questioned order and resolutions. While the
approval of the CBA and the release of the signing bonus did not estop the Union from pursuing
its claims of ULP against the Bank, we find that the latter did not engage in ULP. We, likewise,
hold that the Union is not guilty of ULP.
58
59

IN LIGHT OF THE FOREGOING, the October 29, 1993 Order and December 16, 1993 and
February 10, 1994 Resolutions of then Secretary of Labor Nieves R. Confesor are AFFIRMED.
The Petition is hereby DISMISSED.
SO ORDERED.